Moraine Lake
Spent three mornings and three evenings waiting for a snow storm to leave this valley and uncover the mountains. Finally got some luck and was able to get this ...
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Spent three mornings and three evenings waiting for a snow storm to leave this valley and uncover the mountains. Finally got some luck and was able to get this shot on the last day of my trip.
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Oct, 2017Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Our Natural Planet Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Simply HDR Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 42
Peer Choice Award
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on the far side of the rock pile at Moraine Lake in Banff National Park. I was looking for a view that brought out the richness of the foreground without sacrificing the beauty of the lake and valley.Time
I took a 3 day trip to Banff National Park with the sole purpose of capturing this lake with the morning sun reflecting on the peaks. Turns out that you can never predict nature and my favorite shot (this shot) from the trip came at sunset. In September the sun sets off to the right of the peaks in the photo. If you have the right lighting conditions the front side of the mountains can light up.Lighting
The Canadian Rockies are about as unpredictable as it gets. I spent a few hours around each sunrise and sunset for 3 days before the weather and light cooperated to allow this shot. Taking this photo at sunset posed some difficulties with the dynamic range between the sky and the valley. In order to capture as much usable detail as possible I had to bracket my shots.Equipment
I was shooting with a Sony A7II with the Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS Lens. The only other piece of equipment used in the shot was my MeFOTO Roadtrip tripod.Inspiration
Growing up I heard stories about my father's adventures and saw his magnificent photos from around the world. That sense of adventure was definitely instilled in me and was a driving force behind my exploration of the Canadian and North American Rockies. Once I got into those mountains and began to see their beauty it created a desire to capture that beauty and bring it back for others to see. Photography was the best way to do that. I had seen many amazing photos of Moraine Lake while exploring and growing as a photographer and they inspired me to capture my own version of this lake.Editing
My goal with post-processing is to create a natural look that still reflects the beauty of the memory I have from that location. This particular photo is a HDR panorama comprised of 30 individual photos. With that in mind, I started this editing process by combining each set of bracketed photos in Photomatix Pro. Once the 6 HDR photos were generated I merged them in Photoshop to create the panorama. I then began editing the panorama in Lightroom by boosting contrast, dehaze, highlights, whites, shadows, and darkening blacks a bit. Once that was complete I then sent the photo back to Photoshop to adjust the tone curves.In my camera bag
I tend to spend long days (20 miles or more) hiking in the national parks each time I head out to shoot. Due to the unpredictability of the mountains and the long days out there I have to balance my gear between hiking and photography items. This means I have to take a trimmed down version of my whole photography kit. I always bring my Sony A7II, 24-70mm lens, and tripod. Depending on whether I am out at night or day determines whether I bring a 70-200mm or fast fixed 20mm lens. I also bring a spare battery, polarizing filter, and remote trigger.Feedback
I have two pieces of advice for anyone shooting at this lake. The first being, don't let the weather scare you off. Weather changes so quickly in the mountains that a nasty morning can quickly turn into one of the best days of shooting you have ever had. My second piece of advice is this, be friendly. There are always a lot of people at this lake and some of them are truly amazing photographers so be nice, chat, and you never know who you might meet out there.
